Questions to ask at Monash Council Planning & Building meetings

The Monash Strategic Housing Plan 2014 may lead to changes in the environment in which we live. Many of us chose Monash as a place to live because of its rural or green and leafy aspect. We did not want to live in dense population areas so we settled away from the CBD amongst the trees or in older established areas. Some of us looked for cheaper housing near workplaces such as factories or the university or settled as migrants in areas near the hostels where others were from the same cultural background.

Times change and Monash has passed the Monash Strategic Housing Plan 2014. Yes, I did say passed.

Monash Council are holding two meetings re the Monash Strategic Housing Plan 2014 apparently to tell us about what they have decided.

Two sessions are being held to give us information. Below the session times are suggestions for the questions you might ask at these meetings.

Monday 17 November, 7pm-9pm

If the house next door to me is sold, can it be pulled down? What can be built there?

How much space has to be left around the house? How many levels can it be?

Is it only the bedrooms that cannot be overlooked? How much of my
daylight/sunlight can be taken away?

My street comes off a Main Street so will there be high rise at the end of the street?

Many houses that are liveable are being pulled down – how does this serve Monash’s sustainability goals?

On another level: what control does the Council have over land usage?

How will the Council ensure appropriate housing e.g. affordable single storey units with small garden and close proximity to shops and transport is available for long term and ageing residents who may have cognitive and mobility issues among other issues?

Please specify what the needs of diverse cultural groups and immigrants are in terms of housing and how this will be provided.

Does the current plan serve the needs of the Council and Developers better than it serves the people?

Where in Monash can trees grow old?

Why has the draft plan been passed by Council before the community have been consulted?

‘What impact are the changes going to have on the value of my property?’

“How will residential streets remain safe for our children with high density housing?

Whenever you ask a question there will be others wanting to know the answer